Pinwheel

ABSTRACT

A pinwheel comprising a plurality of flexible blade members rotatably journaled on a shaft and constrained relative to one another in arcuate relation such that each of the blades are interleaved adjacent one another and present an array of generally spherical appearance.

0 United States Patent 1 1 1 11 3,747,263 Grossberg July 24, 1973 [541PINWHEEL 2,510,336 6/1950 Donahue 46/58 3,221,440 12/1965 Gutierez...Sam Gmssberg, 2,985,976 5/1961 Parker 40 39 [73] Assignee: Friedman andGoodman, Brooklyn,

NY. Primary E xaminer-F. Barry Shay Assistant ExaminerRobert F. Cuttin Fl g [22] May 1972 Attorney-Abraham Frledman, Abraham (ioodman [2]] Appl.No.: 253,185 t [57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 46/58, 40/39 511 Int. Cl A63h33/40 A P comprlsmg Pluramy 0f "@Xlble blade [58] Field of Search 46/4753 51- members rotatably Journal! a Shaft and 6 strained relative to oneanother in arcuate relation such that each of the blades are interleavedadjacent one an- [56] Reierences Cited other and present an array ofgenerally spherical ap- UNITED STATES PATENTS Pearance- 1,669,748 5/1928Greger 46/58 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEB JUL 241925 SHEET 1 0F2 FIGI.

PINWHEEL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relatesgenerally to toys and the like, and more particularly to a pinwheelhaving a plurality of interleaved blades which arcuately extend relativeto one another so as to present a spherical appearanee.

The conventional pinwheel generally employs a shaft upon which arerotatably mounted a plurality of blades which are pitched'relative toone another so as to be rotated relative to the shaft upon beingsubjected to a wind load. However, the blades are pitched relative toone another in a generally planar-like uni-directional array and,therefore, will not most effectively rotate when subjected to a windload moving in a direction generally transversely of the uni-directionalrelationship of the blades. Thus, the conventional type of pinwheel haswhat may be characterized as a preferred orientation relative to thewind load and must be so adjusted by a child or other user so astopermit the array of blade members to most effectively rotate relativeto the shaft upon which the blades are journaled.

In other words, a wind load in a direction generally parallel to theplanar-like relationship of the pitched blades will be less effectivefor rotating the array of blades than that windload which movesgenerally in a direction transversely of the planar-like relationship ofthe pitched blades.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a pinwheel which need not be adjusted relative tovarious wind directions, but which is provided with a generallyspherical array of blade members which are interleaved relative to oneanother, such that no matter what orientation the spherical blademembers have with regard to a particular wind direction, the blademembers will most effectively and rapidly rotate relative to a shaftupon which the blade members are journaled freely.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pinwheelwhich is so constructed that it can be made attractively'pleasing toboth children and adults alike and can be handled by children in amanner which will most effectively withstand rough usage dispite therather light-weight construction thereof.

To this end, the present invention relates generally to a pinwheelhaving a plurality of flexible blade members which are interleavedrelative to one another such that they present an array of generallyspherical appearance, which array is journaled freely upon a shaft orthe like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 3 is an alternate embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4-- is still a further alternate embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the association of blades with one anotherat an intermediary stage of assembling the blades, pursuant to theembodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 5 illustrating theconfiguration of each of the blades and the manner by which the bladesare to be associated with one another at an intermediate stage ofassembling the blades into the spherical appearance illustrated in FIG.6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION portion 16, are a plurality ofblade members 22 which are adapted to rotatably move relative to theshaft 12 and are constrained thereon in a manner as will be furtherclarified below. The blade members 22 are arranged in a spherical arrayand rest freely upon a lower bead 24, and are constrained generally inspherical relation. by means of an upper or end bead 26 and by anelongate plastic tube 28, the tube 28 illustrated generally in FIG. 2.The length of the tube 28 is such so as to prevent the diametral endportions of the array of blade members 22 from being squeezed toward oneanother between the beads 24 and 26, in a manner which may otherwise orirreparably damage the blade members 22. The blades 22 are constitutedpreferably of resilient thin gage plastic and arranged successivelyadjacent one another so as to be interleaved relative to one another ina manner which most effectively permits rotation thereof relative to theshaft 12 when subjected to a wind load in any direction.

The manner by which the blades 22 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 are to bejournaled upon the shaft 12 is generally schematically illustrated inFIG. 5. In this respect, the blade members are denoted by the referencecharacters 30, 32 and 34 respectively, each being generally ofrectangular contour. The blade 30 is provided with a pair of oppositeend portions, each of which is provided with an aperture 30A and 308respectively, reference characters 32A and 32B denoting apertures in theend portions of the blade member 32, and reference characters 34A and343 respectively denoting apertures in the end portions of the blade 34.Similarly, each of the blades 30, 32 and 34, are provided with a centralportion which is apertured, reference character 34C denoting theaperture in the top-most blade 34 at the central portion thereof.

The blades 30, 32 and 34 respectively are to be arranged such that eachof the central apertures thereof are coaxially arranged in superposedrelation in a manner illustrated in FIG. 5 and by means of a staple 36denoted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the central apertured portions of each of theblades 30, 32 and 34 respectively can be retained in fixed coaxialsuperposed relation with one another. Thereafter, the apertured endportions 30A and 30B of the blade member 30, the apertured end portions32A and 32B of the blade member 32, and the apertured end portions 34Aand 34B of the blade member 34, are all brought upwardly from the planeof FIG. such that each of these apertured end portions aforementionedare coaxially superposed upon one another and secured relative to oneanother such as by means of a staple or the like. The resultant array isof generally spherical appearance in a manner generally illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, each of the blades forming a respective circular-likeconfiguration.

Although only three blades 30, 32 and 34 respectively are illustrated inFIG. 5, in fact, it is preferred that at least six blades be arranged insuccessively superposed relation in a manner illustrated in FIG. 5 forthe three blades 30, 32 and 34 respectively and when secured such as bystaples at each of the apertured portions thereof into a sphericalarray, the blade members are to be arranged such that each isinterleaved relative to the neighboring blades adjacent thereto, thuspresenting a universally directed pitch for being subjected to windloads in any direction.

The pitch of each of the blades relative to one another and relative tothe shaft 12 can be achieved such as by means as will be described belowfor the preferred embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Pursuant to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the shaft 12 mayterminate in a transverse end 40 which can be held in the fingers of thechild and permit the child to swing the shaft 12 about the transverseend 40, the latter acting as a pivot for the shaft 12 so as to therebyswing the spherical array of blades and cause rotation thereof in theabsence of wind velocity, wind velocity in effect being generated byrotation of the shaft 12 about the axis of the transverse end 40.

Still other or alternate embodiments are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4respectively wherein a pair of spherically arranged blades are rotatablyjournaled upon opposite end portons of the shaft 12, the shaft 12including appropriate crimps and beads thereon in a manner describedabove for the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sphericalappearing arrays being denoted by the reference characters 38 and 42respectively and imparting to the assembly a baton-like unit. Thedifference between the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4 is that in FIG. 3the shaft 12 at the center thereof is generally straight, whereas theshaft 12 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 is provided with acentral bend 44 from which extends a transverse handle 46 for beinggrasped by the child and acting as an axis about which the shaft 12 canbe rotated for permitting the spherically arranged blades denoted byreference characters 38 and 42 to be subjected to wind load even in theabsence of a substantial wind load.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention is to be arranged generally in a manner as illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2 and described above for the aforementioned embodiment, thedifference relating generally to the manner by which the pitch of eachof the blades is to be effected relative to one another.

In this respect, as illustrated in FIG. 7, three blades, denoted byreference characters 50, 52 and 54 respectively, are provided, eachhaving a generally S-shaped configuration. Each of the blades isprovided with opposite end portions having respective apertures therein.such as the apertures 50A and 508 in the end portions of the blademember 50, apertures 52A and 528 in the end portions of the blade member52, and apertures 54A and 548 in the end portions of the blade member54. Moreover, each of the blades 50, 52 and 54 respectively is providedwith a transition portion in which is disposed an aperture, such asaperture 50C in FIG. 7.

Each of the blade members is, likewise, provided with a pair of opposingedges each of which commonly terminates at the opposite end portions ofthe blade members, reference characters 56 and 62 denoting the opposingedges for that of the blade member 50, reference characters 58 and 64denoting the opposite edges of the blade member 52, and referencecharacters 60 and 66 denoting the opposite edges of the blade member 54.

For purposes, as will be further described below, of constraining eachof the blades 50, 52 and 54 respec tively relative to one another so asto have a preferred pitch, each of the edges of each of the blades is tobe provided with a pair of spaced indentations. In this respect, edge 56of the blade member 50 is provided with indentations 56A and 56Brespectively, indentation 56A being disposed adjacent the medial ortransition portion thereof, whereas indentation 56B is disposed adjacentone end portion thereof. Similarly, edge 62 of the blade member 50 isprovided with a pair of spaced indentations, indentation 62A beingdisposed adjacent the transition or medial portion thereof, whereasindentation 62B is disposed adjacent the opposite end portion of blade50 from that end portion at which the indentation 56b is disposed.

Each and every one of the blades 50, 52 and 54, are generally identicalwith one another in size and configuration, and thus, as described abovefor the blade 50, blades 52 and 54 are likewise provided with spacedindentations. In this respect, edge 58 of the blade member 52 isprovided with one indentation 58A adjacent the transition portionthereof, and indentation 58B adjacent one end portion thereof. On theother hand, edge 64 of the blade member 52 is provided with indentation64A adjacent the transition portion thereof and indentation 648 adjacentthe opposite end poriton thereof. Likewise, edge 60 of the blade member54 is provided with indentation 60A adjacent the transition portionthereof, and indentation 608 adjacent one end portion thereof. On theother hand, edge 66 of the blade member 54 is provided with indentation66A adjacent the transition portion thereof, and indentation 663 at theopposite end portion thereof.

The blades 50, 52 and 54, are to be arranged or superposed upon oneanother in a manner illustrated in FIG. 7 such that the aperture in thetransition portion of each of the blade members is coaxially alignedwith the others, the transition portions of each of the blade membersbeing superposed as a group upon one another. Because of therelationship of each of the indentations described above, when the blademembers 50, 52 and 54 are superposed upon one another in a mannerillustrated in FIG. 7, respective portions of each of the edges of eachof the blade members may effectively be constrained or seated within thespaced indentations of an adjoining edge of a neighboring blade. In thisrespect, the edge 56 at one portion thereof can be partially confinedwithin the indentation 60A of the blade 54, the edge 66 of the blade 54can be constrained within the indentation 58A of the blade 52, the edge64 of the blade 52 can be constrained within the indentation 56A of theblade 50, the edge 62 of the blade 50 can be constrained within theindentation 66A of the blade 54, the edge 60 of the blade 54 can beconstrained within the indentation 64A of the blade 52, and the edge 58of the blade 52 can be constrained within the indentation 62A of theblade member 50.

Similarly, upon bending each of the blades 50, 52 and 54 upwardly of theplane of FIG. 7, in a manner described above for that of FIG. 5, suchthat the apertures 50A and 50B of the blade member 50, the apertures 52Aand 52B of the blade member 52, and the apertures 54A and 54B of theblade member 54 are all coaxially superposed upon one another as a groupin coaxial relation opposite the coaxially aligned transition portionapertures at the center of each of the blades, and secured to oneanother such as by means of a staple or the like, the opposite edges ofeach of these blades can be constrained within the indentations at theend portions of the neighboring blades.

In this respect, when the end portions of each of the blades are sosecured to one another, the end edge 56 of the blade 50 can be partiallyconstrained within the indentation 608 of the blade 54, the end edge 66of the blade 54 can be constrained within the indentation 588 of theblade 52, the end edge 64 can be constrained within the indentation 568of the blade member 50, the end edge 62 can be constrained within theindentation 668 of the blade 54, the end edge 54 can be con strainedwithin the indentation 64B of the blade 52, and the end edge 58 can beconstrained within the indentation 62B of the blade member 50.

With the blades 50, 52 and 54, secured to oneanother such as by staplesor the like, such that the superposed group of end portion apertures arecoaxially opposite the superposed group of transition portion apertures,and such that each of the opposite edges of the blades are constrainedwithin the adjacent indentations of the neighboring blades, the bladesas so arranged, will present a generally spherical appearance whereineach of the blades are interleaved relative to one another and present agenerally fixed pitch of universal extent so as to be rotated relativeto a shaft, such as that of the shaft 12 illustrated in FIG. 1 whensubjected to a wind load in any direction, each of the blades forming arespective circular-like configuration.

Although only three blades are illustrated for the'embodimentillustrated in FIG. 7, it is preferred that the arrangements have aptlysix blades in a manner illustrated in FIG. 6 to provide a denselypopulated spherical array 70 of 12 half segments such as denoted byreference characters 71 A and B 76 A and B, the latter includingrespective indentations, 71C and D 76C and D, in a manner illustrated inFIG. 7 at the end portions thereof and at the transition portionsthereof (not shown).

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is for purposes of illustration only and is not to beconstrued as a limitation of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A pinwheel comprising a plurality of discreet flexible blade members,each of said blade members being,

in plan development, S-shaped, said blade members each including a pairof opposite apertured end portions, an apertured transition portionbetween said end portions, and a pair of opposing edges commonlyterminating at said end portions, said blade members having theirtransition portions superposed with all theapertures of said transitionportions being coaxially aligned, said blade members being arcuatelydisposed and having said end portions superposed on the same side ofsaid superposed transition portions, said apertures of said end portionsbeing in coaxial alignment with said transition portion apertures; shaftmeans extending freely through the apertures of said end portions and ofsaid transition portions of each of said blade members, said shaft meansincluding securing means for maintaining said blade members in arcuateconfiguration, said blade members being successively angularly arrangedabout said shaft means in interleaved relation; and spacer means mountedon said shaft means and extending between said end and transitionportions for preventing movement of said end and transition portionstowards one another while disposed in said arcuate configurations,whereby said blade members cooperatively form an interleaved array ofgenerally spherical appearance.

2. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the opposing edgesof each of said blade members includes a pair of spaced indentations,one indentation of each pair being disposed at each of said endportions, the other indentation of each pair being disposed at saidtransition portion, said blade members extending in successive partialabutting relation with one another such that respective spaced portionsof one edge of each of said blade members, which have absent therefromindentations, engageably seat within the pair of indentationsrespectively provided in the edge portion of an adjacent blade member.

3. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said spacer means includesa cylindrical member interposed between the group of superposed endportions and the group of superposed transition portions.

4. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 3, wherein said securing meanscomprises crimp means for maintaining the group of superposed endportions proximate one end of said cylindrical member and the group ofsuperposed transition portions proximate an opposite end of saidcylindrical member.

5. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 4, wherein said crimp means dividessaid shaft means into a handle portion and a blade member carryingportion each of which extend generally parallel to one another.

6. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 5, wherein said spacer means includesa generally spherical bead journaled freely on said shaft means andinterposed between one crimp and said blade members, and a furthergenerally spherical bead journaled freely at a crimped end of said shaftmeans between the latter said end and said blade members.

7. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 6, wherein said tween said sphericalarrays of blade members.

1. A pinwheel comprising a plurality of discreet flexible blade members,each of said blade members being, in plan development, S-shaped, saidblade members each including a pair of opposite apertured end portions,an apertured transition portion between said end portions, and a pair ofopposing edges commonly terminating at said end portions, said blademembers having their transition portions superposed with all theapertures of said transition portions being coaxially aligned, saidblade members being arcuately disposed and having said end portionssuperposed on the same side of said superposed transition portions, saidapertures of said end portions being in coaxial alignment with saidtransition portion apertures; shaft means extending freely through theapertures of said end portions and of said transition portions of eachof said blade members, said shaft means including securing means formaintaining said blade members in arcuate configuration, said blademembers being successively angularly arranged about said shaft means ininterleaved relation; and spacer means mounted on said shaft means andextending between said end and transition portions for preventingmovement of said end and transition portions towards one another whiledisposed in said arcuate configurations, whereby said blade memberscooperatively form an interleaved array of generally sphericalappearance.
 2. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of theopposing edges of each of said blade members includes a pair of spacedindentations, one indentation of each pair being disposed at each ofsaid end portions, the other indentation of each pair being disposed atsaid transition portion, said blade members extending in successivepartial abutting relation with one another such that respective spacedportions of one edge of each of said blade members, which have absenttherefrom indentations, engageably seat within the pair of indentationsrespectively provided in the edge portion of an adjacent blade member.3. A pinwheel as claimed in claim 1, wherein said spacer means includesa cylindrical member interposed between the group of superposed endportions and the group of superposed transition portions.
 4. A pinwheelas claimed in claim 3, wherein said securing means comprises crimp meansfor maintaining the group of superposed end portions proximate one endof said cylindrical member and the group of superposed transitionportions proximate an opposite end of said cylindrical member.
 5. Apinwheel as claimed in claim 4, wherein said crimp means divides saidshaft means into a handle portion and a blade member carrying portioneach of which extend generally parallel to one another.
 6. A pinwheel asclaimed in claim 5, wherein said spacer means includes a generallyspherical bead journaled freely on said shaft means and interposedbetween one crimp and said blade members, and a further generallyspherical bead journaled freely at a crimped end of said shaft meansbetween the latter said end and said blade members.
 7. A pinwheel asclaimed in claim 6, wherein said handle portion of said shaft meansterminates at a bent opposite end portion extending generallytransversely of the remainder of said handle portion.
 8. A pinwheel asclaimed in claim 1, including a further spherical array of blade memberssimilar to the first said array and journaled freely upon said shaftmeans in spaced relation with the first said array.
 9. A pinwheel asclaimed in claim 8, including a transverse handle projecting from saidshaft means between said spherical arrays of blade members.